Martin Boykan studied composition with Walter Piston, Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith, and piano with Eduard Steuermann. He received a BA from Harvard University, 1951, and an MM from Yale University, 1953.

Boykan was awarded the Jeunesse Musicales prize for his String Quartet No. 1, and the League ISCM award for his Elegy.  Other awards include a Rockefeller grant, NEA award, Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Fulbright.  In 2011 Boykan was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  He is Emeritus Professor of Music, Brandeis University.